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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25634683">Silence and Tea</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/R31K0/pseuds/R31K0'>R31K0</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Summoners War (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Elbowing The Shit Out Of That Nose™, F/M, Loneliness, Minor Violence, Vague Romantic Undertones If You Squint</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:47:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,540</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25634683</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/R31K0/pseuds/R31K0</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The sky island is quiet.<br/>The serenity is too good, a busy island should be bustling at all hours and when it’s not Lapis finds her mind drifting.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lushen/Lapis (Summoners War)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Silence and Tea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>To think I've been playing Summoners War since 2016 but it took me 4 years to make myself post a fic on here. Anyway, I'm here and I'm making An Attempt™. For those interested in why these two monsters are the ones I got into writing about, well, one of my in-game friends repped a Lushen and literally took my at-the-time weak Lapis through the whole map. Good times.  </p><p>I hope the small SW fanbase that's on here enjoys! One last thing; I... do not know how to tag.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sky island is quiet. Silence has settled over the area, except for the steady beating noise from the waterfall all is at peace and it’s at times like these that Lapis has the hardest time to sleep. It’s too calm, too quiet, instead of lulling her to sleep the silence almost feels heavy and makes her worry. Beneath her cover she’s tensing unevenly, listening for creaks or voices so hard it almost hurts. Unlike noise, silence makes Lapis restless.</p><p>This serenity is too good, a busy island should be bustling at all hours and when it’s not Lapis finds her mind drifting. She thinks about ambushes, imagines enemies from the underworld flooding the island, visualises how an infected monster creeps closer and lingers outside her door, waiting to pounce. The woman has to shake the thoughts from her mind when she hears a small noise by her door. It’s just the old boards creaking outside her room in the barracks where all the monsters reside. Lapis has heard the same noise hundreds of times but it seldom bothers her until nights like this one arrives. </p><p>Supposedly, her anxiousness and suspicion is a result of some sort of post traumatic stress disorder she’s acquired from her work. It would be weird if she hadn’t become affected somehow. The sheer amount of nights she’s spent down in the world below with her sword inches from her side is bound to have left some marks. As are all of the ambushes from infected monsters that have stumbled upon her and her weapon. It’s no understatement that Lapis is a qualified killer, she prides herself in that when sleep evades her and comforts herself with the fact that she’s survived situations most wouldn’t.<br/>
</p><p>Though, not being able to sleep is a pain in the ass. </p><p>Unceremoniously, Lapis gets out of bed and dresses. Despite the sunny weather during the days the nights in the sky are cold and Lapis layers up with thick sweatpants and a hoodie which she vaguely remembers belongs to her best friend Luer. He’s probably aware of that she has it but is too nice to ask for it back. Tasking herself with returning it tomorrow Lapis gets out of her small apartment that’s lodged between two identical rooms. Her neighbours are probably sound asleep but the magic knight tip toes away on silent feet until she can get outside the barracks where all of the apartments are. There she dons her shoes and walks out into the chilly night. </p><p>Lapis’s arms gets covered with goosebumps instantly, but she’s happy. Cold doesn’t bother her that much, the moisture in the air actually makes her feel calm and soothed. The clear affiliation she has with water is something she blames on her attribute. Subconsciously she heads towards the waterfall, hearing it’s noise grow louder with each step. The grass is moist from dew and it seeps inside Lapis’s shoes, but honestly it doesn’t bother the water monster. After a barely three minute walk the knight finds herself by the waterfall and to Lapis’s relief she’s filled with a sense of calm just hearing the water splashing and roaring down into the pond below the actual fall. A couple of times Lapis has swum in the small waves created by the fall’s power, it’s one of the best things she knows. Recalling it she remembers how the water was cool and cold and how it just felt like it was embracing her. It’s spring right now, even if the seasons up above rarely change drastically. Soon, maybe she can swim again without risking a cold.<br/>
</p><p>A flicker of movement is registered in the corner of her eye and Lapis gears her body into attack mode. It’s instantaneous how swift her response is, but Lapis has spent years on this island and she knows how to defend it and defend herself in the process. Although unarmed, this trespasser is about to learn that her sword is not the only thing that’s sharp. Lapis might not be very quick herself, but her magic is, and now she focuses it into four spheres of glowing water power and charges. In response the stranger lights up with golden wind magic and Lapis curses, a string of fear wrapping itself around her heart. To her, wind is lethal, and her attacks are less powerful when faced with the breezy opposing element. </p><p>Lapis sends her spheres zooming forward, aiming them to crash into the dark shadow a couple of metres away. It’s hard to make out the shape of who, or what, it is in the darkness even if she tries to focus her gaze. A card flies past her, narrowly missing her cheek, and the magic it’s laced with makes her shiver with distaste and worry. It’s bound to be a rough match. Her magic chases the intruder, but they avoid the sizzling touch of her water, bolting out of the way, cartwheeling like it’s a goddamn circus. It seems as if the stranger is swift on their feet, something which Lapis must do something about. Cautiously avoiding putting herself in the line of fire for the wind magic the knight dashes forward, closing the space between the attacker and herself. They’re busy avoiding her magic which will still hurt if it reaches its target. Juggling four different spheres is difficult work it appears, because the man, it most definitely is a man, doesn’t notice Lapis until she’s almost right by him and by then it’s too late. A sphere knocks into him and straight after Lapis launches herself forward, her body weight colliding with him and bringing the two of them down. The dew from the hills is chilly and the smell of wet grass is as pleasant as a perfume in Lapis’s nose, but all she puts her focus into is trying to elbow the shit out of this intruder for being on her island. </p><p>He winces when she goes for his solar plexus, Lapis pushes an elbow against the spot hard and hears him wheeze. Despite him being a man he’s a lot lighter than her and Lapis has no trouble keeping him pinned. She can smell his cologne, a spicy scent reminding her of cinnamon, and feel the pulsing of his wind magic as he tries to launch an attack. She smacks his hands away before he can amount to anything and Lapis redirects her spheres closer, their sparkling magic casting blue flickers of light on the two of them. It’s in the light from her magic that Lapis realises her mistake. She’s met with thin eyebrows framing large caramel brown eyes, high cheekbones, a now bloodied nose and wispy chestnut coloured hair that’s surprisingly flat compared to how it’s supposed to be. It takes her a few seconds to register all of this familiarity and it seems to take him almost an equal amount of time to realise she’s not an intruder either. </p><p>“Could’ve said something”, Lapis grumbles and pushes herself off of his lanky body while Lushen just winces.</p><p>“Didn’t want to blow my ambush in case you were an enemy - shit, you hit hard.” </p><p>He hauls himself up to sit beside her, groaning in pain as he does so. His back is wet from the grass and his hair has become even more messed up now from their quick wrestling. Lapis uses her magic sphere to cast light in his face, feeling guilty when she sees Lushen cradling his nose with a bitter grimace. Normally his nose is always covered with one of those plastic red clown noses. He isn’t wearing one now but because of all of the blood it almost looks like he is anyway. </p><p>“I don’t think it looks broken”, she mumbles, a feeling of shame settling over her, as he gently prods it. </p><p>“Its probably not”, the joker replies and wipes some blood off on his own sweatshirt’s sleeve. The green fabric turns crimson, it’s gonna be a pain to wash out. </p><p>“...sorry.”</p><p>He shrugs. “We both did what we were supposed to in the case of spotting an intruder. Unless you were just trying to kill me.”</p><p>Lapis shakes her head. In all honesty she’s not fond of the joker at all, she doesn’t like him. He’s too positive, too energetic, and he’s too good of a farmer for her to really feel safe in her position as the primary farmer. Lapis is aware of that her Summoner has a weak spot for the wind joker. Knowing that makes Lapis angry, the knight has been putting down so much work into making her Summoner proud and this joker just comes to ruin it. </p><p>“You weren’t trying to kill me, were you?” Lushen repeats and Lapis realises she’s forgot to reply. </p><p>“You’d know if I were”, the knights assures which makes him grin. </p><p>He has a handsome face despite all of the blood and Lapis averts her gaze. This is also one of the reasons why she dislikes him - he’s attractive. Even with a potentially broken nose that’s bleeding profusely she finds him good looking and it’s so frustrating that the knight starts to gnaw on her bottom lip. </p><p>“Careful. You’ll pop it”, Lushen observes and Lapis feels flustered because she knows he was looking at her lips. </p><p>“‘s fine”, she mutters, a second before splitting her lip. He gives a curt laugh when she curses at the sting and Lapis sucks her bottom lip into her mouth and the metallic taste makes her grimace. </p><p>“Why’re you up”, the joker asks. </p><p>The question makes her pause a bit. She and Lushen have spoken a lot of times because their category of work is basically the same. However, Lapis can’t recall that any of the questions he’s ever asked her have felt as intimate as this one. “Couldn’t sleep”, she says and he nods. </p><p>“Nightmares?”</p><p>“Something like that.”</p><p>Perhaps he’ll think her weak for not being able to sleep when she’s slain hundreds of infected monsters without batting an eyelash. Though, he just nods thoughtfully as if he knows exactly what she’s talking about. It’s never struck her until now that maybe he does. “It’s too quiet”, she adds and this sets him off nodding in acknowledgement again. </p><p>“Agreed, that’s why I couldn’t...”, he trails off but she gets him, it’s Lapis’s turn to nod. </p><p>Lushen’s freezing; she can see how he shivers every now and then and the back of his shirt and trousers are soaked through because of the dew in the grass. Lapis is less sensitive to the chill but even she admits it’s a bit cold. She wonders if she should suggest they both go home, though Lushen beats her to it. “I’m gonna go home”, he says and Lapis hums in agreement. “And I’m gonna make some tea. Wanna come?” </p><p>There’s a lot of things Lapis has passed up on since dedicating her focus to be wholly on her career. She’s lost some connections, she struggles to keep up with friends, with sleep, and the events on the island. Sometimes it makes her gloomy, but mostly she tries not to pay attention to it. Aiming to keep being her Summoner’s primary farmer is hard work but the payoffs are glorious. The fact that Lapis misses company is most likely what makes her accept the invitation. 

</p><p>“Alright”, the knight replies. </p><p>He rises first and then extends his hand to help her up, a gentle look in his eyes. Lapis revels in how warm his hand is without the yellow gloves he usually has donned. His hands are very soft, surprisingly so, Lapis wouldn’t have guessed those hands belonged to a killer if she hadn’t known him. The gloves seem to protect him from the sharpness of his cards while Lapis’s sword makes calluses in her hands. </p><p>The walk over to his place is short, quiet, it’s as if both are checking their surroundings for any abnormalities. Lapis is still a bit high on the thrill of their fight and Lushen snivels every now and then when more blood seeps from his nose. Lushen’s home is situated in another barrack which Lapis is familiar with but seldom visits. He invites her inside with a little shrug, seemingly unconcerned with if she’ll find his home appealing or not. His confidence is admirable, though perhaps he’s just tidy and has nothing laying around. She steps inside, he flicks on the lights and closes the door as she kicks off her shoes. When Lapis’s eyes adjust to the light she notes the tidy interior and that it looks practically identical to her own place. Only differences are the decorations; different decks of cards, a couple of different gloves, a dart board with some cards stuck in it, and green wallpaper. Lushen’s clearly added his personal touch with some stuff he’s accumulated since he was summoned which makes Lapis appreciate the room a bit more. </p><p>“You prefer yours black or green?” he asks her. Lapis shifts to look at him, she hadn’t noticed he had moved. The joker with the messy brown hair is by the kitchen counter, currently filling a kettle. She can see how wet the back of his shirt is from where she stands; the previously green hue is almost black. 

</p><p>“I’ll take whatever you take”, Lapis decides and Lushen shrugs as he puts the kettle on and starts rummaging around in a cupboard.</p><p>“Hope you like green”, he says and then adds with a dramatic flair in his voice; “with a taste of kiwi and passion fruit!” The knight snorts on a laugh and he rewards her with a grin. He studies her from across the room, motioning for her to step further inside his humble domain and Lapis does. “You just take a seat, or look around, and I’ll go change my shirt. Do you need a new one too?”</p><p>How considerate of him, and how inconsiderate of her cheeks to feel like they will start burning. She’s borrowed clothes from guys before, but Lushen is not her best friend Luer. Lushen is a trickster joker who’s the biggest competitor in her field of work and whom she dislikes but also finds strikingly handsome. Accepting his kindness feels kind of like backstabbing herself even if he’s just being nice. Lapis isn’t even cold but the thought of a change is appealing, especially since she kind of liked the scent of his cologne. It’s probably stupid to be indebted to him, but she’s definitely taking his dry and clean shirt. </p><p>“Yeah, if you have one to spare that would be nice”, she mumbles and he nods with understandment. </p><p>While the water warms up Lapis changes into some sort of yellow knitwear and Lushen goes off to change into something equally green to what he was wearing before. He’s gone to the bathroom and she’s still in his combined kitchen and living room. The colour yellow sure is awful on Lapis, it makes her look pale and it contrasts badly against her blue hair. It’s boring to say, but she prefers blue. The joker soon returns, fresh in a new shirt. It’s a button up, made of a thicker and warmer material but still quite fine. He looks cozy which is a fun observation to Lapis since she knows his kill count is above a hundred already. In his hand he carries a moss-coloured towel and Lapis is about to ask what it’s for when he reveals it.</p><p>“Could you help me clean up my nose, I can’t see properly.”</p><p>Lushen and Lapis trade places, she takes the cloth and he sits down and tilts his head upwards to give her better reach. His eyes are blissfully closed, hands clasped patiently in his lap, and Lapis wonders for a moment how she got into the position she’s currently in. She’s going to clean off her rival’s potentially broken nose while he boils them tea and lends her his clothing. It’s so bizarre it makes the knight smile. </p><p>Gently, she takes a hold of his chin to tilt his face better, when she touches his nose with the cloth she’s softer than she usually would be. Still, as she dabs and gently rubs away splotches of crusted blood Lushen winces. A strange sense of pride mixed with guilt comes over her, because Lapis is happy she can deal powerful blows but she’s also aware of that she’s hurt him. Dislike him or not, she didn’t wish him any pain. </p><p>“You’re surprisingly gentle”, Lushen notes with a shallow breath, trying to sit as still as he can.<br/>
She dabs around his nostrils, crusted flakes of blood coming loose and a smell of metal is released inside the room. Despite the oddity Lapis doesn’t find the smell of blood unpleasant, it just is what it is and she doesn’t mind it. “I don’t always swing a sword around, y’know.” </p><p>He smiles at her sass and Lapis is grateful he’s keeping his eyes shut. Having him look at her would be a bother, not because she doesn’t like a good audience but because it would make her heart race a little faster. She’s already worried he can hear it’s steady thumps against her ribcage and it makes her flustered she’s so easily affected. </p><p>“I think you’re good now”, Lapis says after she’s cleaned off the blood. The blue bruising and swelling is nothing she can heal, it’ll have to go down on its own and it’s going to look awful for a couple of days. It annoys Lapis that despite the discolouration to his nose he’s still quite handsome. </p><p>“Am I gorgeous again?” Lushen asks and Lapis laughs. The noise does however get stuck in her throat when he opens his eyes. She’s always had a thing for brown eyes, the way they look like the earth she walks, soft and warm. The fact that Lushen’s eyes are tinted with a bit of caramel adds a little twist which makes her find his eyes even prettier. Honestly, fuck him. </p><p>He stares back at her for a while, and Lapis is curious about what he thinks of her. Though, his earnest gaze gets to intense for her and in lack of better things to do to divert the situation she puts the cloth to his nose again. Lushen yelps in pain but the tension that had started building in the room dissuades. </p><p>“You look so-so”, she tells him, a complete lie. </p><p>“It’ll do”, he says, but for what Lapis is not sure. </p><p>She dabs around with the cloth a bit more until the kettle starts whistling angrily. It breaks Lapis’s attention but Lushen’s quick to get up and take care of it to prevent his neighbours from waking. “I’ll fix this”, the joker assures Lapis when she just hovers a bit behind him. “You sit down on the couch.”</p><p>The magic knight follows his advice. Lushen’s couch is in the opposite corner compared to the door, his entire room viewable from the small thing. It has two seats and a small table with an armchair across from it. Lapis is not too keen on a having him sit next to her, her heart can only take so much in a day, so she opts for the armchair even if her heart gives a reprimanding painful thud. Lushen rummages around in the kitchen, she can’t see him from where she sits with her back against the living room and kitchen, she can however hear him. The joker has started humming a tune she can’t place but it makes her sleepy. It’s a pleasant background noise, the blue haired woman decides, gently easing herself deeper into the cushions and closing her eyes. </p><p>—</p><p>Lapis awakes abruptly, flailing to get a look at her surroundings. It’s not her own home, she’s in an armchair and it smells off, and she’s wearing a different shirt that has a scent of manly cologne on it and— right. </p><p>It hadn’t occurred to her that she was tired enough to sleep the whole night. It’s morning now and the sun filtering in through the curtains is what’s drawn her from her long nap. The knight has a blanket draped gently over her and on the couch table there’s two mugs of tea, one full and one empty. </p><p>“Want a hot refill?”</p><p>She recognises Lushen’s voice immediately even if it’s raspy from just waking up. The slight hoarseness is a bit too good to listen to; it makes her shiver. She cranes her head to look back towards where the voice came from and spots him placing the kettle on the stove. He’s ruffled and messy, his nose is blue, eyes still full of sleep, he’s still her biggest rival when it comes to work but her dislike for him is less prominent now than yesterday. It’s interesting how those feelings of jealousy and annoyance has shifted a bit. </p><p>Lushen is still looking at her, wondering about the tea and waiting for her reply. Just like yesterday Lapis thinks about that company might not be so bad. He might make her worry about work, but he’s better than being completely alone in the sometimes deafening silence. </p><p>“Yes, please.”</p>
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